Relational Databases

Flat-style infographic showing icons for relational, NoSQL, and vector databases with the title “How to Choose Between Relational, NoSQL, and Vector Databases.”

How to Choose Between Relational, NoSQL, and Vector Databases

This guide explains the key differences between relational, NoSQL, and vector databases, highlighting their strengths, best use cases, and examples. Relational databases are best for structured data and transactions, NoSQL excels at scalability and flexibility, while vector databases power AI and semantic search. Learn how to choose the right database—or combine them in a polyglot approach—for your project.

MariaDB vs MariaDB ColumnStore: What’s the Difference?

MariaDB and MariaDB ColumnStore serve different workloads. MariaDB is a row-based relational database best for OLTP use cases like transactions, e-commerce, and web apps. ColumnStore, on the other hand, uses columnar storage optimized for OLAP, making it ideal for analytics, BI, and large-scale data queries. In practice, businesses often use both together—MariaDB for fast transactional operations and ColumnStore for analyzing massive datasets.